Having been there and had a number of people on the books over the years, I can tell you that now I'm back on my own I've less stress and more money, ok I can't take on large jobs but getting the odd sub contractor in works for me. I see other sparks with two or three brand new vans, but they always look stressed and about 10 years older then me, even though I know they are younger than me. Just make sure your profit is worth the hassle, because often working two hours extra a day to sort things out is not worth the £5k extra a year.

I think you're on the right track Goldenboy. I like the subsides routine, we are quite lucky in our small town that there are a handful of us one man bands who have all worked with one another either directly or indirectly over the years, and can all pull together when required. One such job was an old colleague who had been off traveling, and passed all his work over to me. On his return, he had a massive job, and towards the end there were a couple of night shifts with 5 different companies on the electrics, all one man bands (I was still two at that point), and all helping out and having a great time. He is now quiet, and I know I will be calling on him in a month or two when ice got projects off the ground. Make sure you keep a good relationship with people like this, and remember to keep friendship and business as separate things. If you can master that, you are almost there!

Check insurance as well, even for subsides you will probably need employers liability insurance.